Tired Eyes
by stainedglassmasquerade
Summary: When five year old Estel needs a bath, guess who gets the job? Elladan and Elrohir. Please read and review!


Another beautiful day in Rivendell, the flowers had bloomed and the sun lit the trees wondrously. All was not beautiful however, "NO BAF! NO BAF!" screeched the five year old running through the halls, caked with mud. He had somehow managed to escape the Lord of Rivendell when he had been taken out of his muddy clothing and was to be put into his bath. Now Estel was streaking through the halls of Imaladris, Lord Elrond no doubt close behind. The child would do anything to avoid that water.

"Estel, come back here this instant!" Elrond shouted as he ran quickly after the child. He certainly looked nothing like the distinguished elf lord he was.

"NO! No baf, no baf!" the child shrieked as he ran. He wasn't about to slow anytime soon and that was apparent as he whipped around a corner, nearly running over Elrohir. The older elf had moved off to the side, however, and watched as Estel continued his sprint to escape Lord Elrond.

"Catch him, someone! By the Valar would someone please catch him!" yelled Elrond. Elladan was not far behind Elrohir and swiftly grabbed for the child, snagging an arm. That stopped Estel, who was now attempting to wrench his arm from Elladan's grip.

"No! Let go! Let go!" plead Estel. Elladan tightened his grip, he almost laughed as he looked at the child. Then he looked to his disheveled father. He was not at all the Elrond that Elladan knew at the moment.

"Elladan, and you Elrohir. Take Estel and bathe him." he commanded, "I must...rest." he mumbled slowly as he walked off, back towards his study. Elrohir shook his head with a light smile as he looked to Estel whom was still in the attempt to get away.

"Well, let's get you bathed then." Elrohir smiled but it soon changed to a cringe. Estel had finally bit Elladan. Elladan pulled his hand away quickly and shook it in the air, trying to relieve the pain. And once again, Estel was on the run.

"Little bugger..." Elrohir growled as he closed the few steps between he and the lad. He then picked Estel up by the waist.

"No! Let go! Let go! No baf! No Baf! I wanna play..." The child whined, arms and legs flailing.

"Let's just get this done with..." Elrohir muttered as he looked to Elladan. Bathing Estel was not something on his agenda.

When they reached the bathroom, Elrohir gently set Estel down in his still warm bath water. The child was silent and sat completely still.

"He's quiet… he shouldn't be quiet." Elrohir commented nervously.

"Did we, did we kill him?" Asked Elladan, afraid.

"No. See, he blinked." His brother reassured.

Finally the lad gave a light squeal and started to splash the water ferociously, sure to drench the twins. He giggled away in the process of doing so.

"AH!" squeaked Elladan as the water flew in his direction. The more the boy splashed, the darker Elladan's robes became. Elrohir sighed, a lock of deep brown hair now stuck onto his fair features and his front was saturated with water.

"Estel! No! Behave! Stop splashing!" Elrohir squealed and Estel finally stopped. Then he blew bubbles in his water before flinging soap everywhere.

By the time the twins had succeeded in pulling the child out of the water and drying him off, they were exhausted. That in itself was a feat for the mortal child. After all, the twins were elves, they did not tire easily.

"Estel, dress yourself. Elladan and I are going back to our quarters." Stated Elrohir slowly, he was extremely tired, as was his counterpart.

"All right!" replied Estel happily.

The child was dressed and ran out of the bathroom before the twins had even reached the door. And unless their tired eyes deceived them, elven or not, the human had his tunic on backwards. There was no good reason to stop Estel, so they let him go as he ran quickly past.

The two grown elves were a sight for sore eyes as they slowly walked through the halls of Rivendell. Both were drenched and covered in soap suds. Most of Elrohir's hair stuck to the front of his face and Elladan had droplets of water dripping from the end of his nose.

When they had reached their quarters, neither bothered to change their clothing, they only proceeded to collapse on their beds. Before long both were fast asleep, eyes wide open, fixed at the ceiling. Not a single sound was heard as Estel quietly snuck inside.

There was a slight clatter as he seated himself on the floor between both beds. In his tiny hands were pots and pans, and he was poised to strike.


End file.
